Blue Moon Safaris is a small specialized safari
company that began in Tanzania in 1998. We are small
on purpose. Last year we took less than 100 clients
to Tanzania, and accompanied almost all of them
personally on their trips. We do this because we
love being on safari with interesting folks, and
sharing our knowledge of Africa, its wildlife and
its people.

We offer good, honest safaris at good, honest
prices, but we are not for everybody. If you are the
kind of person who believes that huge multinational
corporations donít make a better hamburger than the
local corner grill, then you will probably
appreciate going on a safari with a small
organization like us. We believe our small size
allows us to offer a level of service and personal
attention that would not be possible otherwise - and
itís definitely more enjoyable!

We try to get to
know everyone of our clients personally before we
even leave home, and when you arrive in Africa will
be there waiting to greet you. Once on safari, we
are happy to share our knowledge and passion, gained
from years of experience living, working and leading
safari groups in Africa.

Unless you have a friend who has been on safari with
us, you may never have heard of us. There is a good
reason - we spend very little on advertising or
overhead, and most of our clients come to us
directly from recommendations from happy clients.
Since we intend to stay small, we donít need a lot
of clients, just the special ones! And the money we
save on marketing and overhead, without the middleman, we pass on to in the
form of great safari values.

Thank you for considering us!
Dr Phi Giovannini

Phil
got an early start traveling, moving to North Africa
with his family at just 9 months old. From there he
continued his foreign travels, growing up in Turkey,
Japan and Europe. As an adult, Phil has been living
in East Africa as the Director of Wildlife Biology Studies since winter of 1997, where he spent most of
his time living in a tent while on safari. Many of
his students were convinced he had the best job in
the world Ė exploring East Africa in a Land Rover
looking for exciting places and opportunities for
students to do their studies.

Phil recently led the first expedition to
circumnavigate Mt Kilimanjaro on mountain bikes and published an account of that adventure. He
speaks swahili and has received live chickens as
gifts. He is on first name basis with various
bushmen, and has finally learned to make fire with
two sticks! In addition to planning and leading
safaris, he has taught wildlife management at
California State University and works as a
professional environmental scientist.

Phil met his beautiful wife, Seba while living in
East Africa, and their son, Massimo, was born there
at their home and small farm. Phil is an avid
photographer, and many of the pictures shown on this
site were taken from his own safari expeditions.

Phil has also worked extensively overseas in Egypt,
Eritrea and Costa Rica, and has done work at the
Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand, the
Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology in Oahu, with the
Senate Committee on Natural Resources in California,
and onboard Japanese fishing vessels in the Bering
Sea.

Dr. Randy Mager

I
love to travel. My family moved to France when I was
in second grade and I became hooked while visiting
various countried throughout Europe. We all went to
South Africa when I was 12 and spent a glorious 2
months visiting the wildlife reserves and many other
places in that country with my family. Later, on my
own, I went to Mexico, back to Europe, Canada,
Liberia (Peace Corps), Egypt, Israel (fish farming),
Tanzania, Cambodia, and throughout the U.S.

The best part of travel is the people you meet. Both
the folks that live wherever you are, as well as the
other people that are passing through. People that
are willing to travel outside of their comfort zone
to see new sights and have new adventures are a
different breed of folk and well worth making their
acquaintance. That's why I love leading these
safaris. Not only is Tanzania an incredibly
beautiful place and the people there friendly,
generous and wonderful, but the people that want to
go on our kind of safaris are the kind of people I
enjoy spending time with.

As
a counseler, and finally director, of the award
winning summer camp, Earth Camp One I organized and
led many week-long wilderness
backpack trips, climbs up Mt. Shasta, and trips down
the Pit River. On my own, I have kayaked and canoed
down rivers throughout the west and backpacked
throughout the Canadian Rockies, Colorado and
California. I enjoy nature and made it the focus of my
professional life- with a Ph.D. in ecology and a
profession in river habitat restoration for
the State of California. It's really fun traveling
around Tanzania on safari and seeing the wildlife
and habitats, helping people understand some of the
ecology of the area, and talking with the guides and
reserve managers about the areas and animals.

Phil and I met when we were in grad school getting
our MS in International Agricultural Development
back in 1986 and stayed friends throughout our
doctoral studies. It's a wonderful thing to work
with somebody that shares a common vision and who is
such a good friend. Our families have a good time
together and it will be fun on safari with them all
this summer. I live in Davis, California with my
wife and two sons. My boys, 6 and 9 are really
looking forward to going on safari this summer, and
it should be a really great summer.

Meanwhile, I hope we get a chance to chat and swap
stories with you as the sun dips over the horizon
and the African stars come out. See you there.
Randy